NASSAU, Bahamas (AP) — Matthew Cleveland scored 18 points, Nijel Pack added 16 and No. 12 Miami topped Georgia 79-68 on Friday in the opening round of the Baha Mar Hoops Bahamas Championship.
Wooga Poplar finished with 13 points and 11 rebounds for the Hurricanes (4-0). Bensley Joseph also scored 13 for Miami, and Norchad Omier battled through foul trouble to score 11.
Blue Cain scored 18 for Georgia (2-2), and Noah Thomasson added 14 and Jabri Abdur-Rahim finished with 13 for the Bulldogs. Georgia fell to 5-22 over the last five years against opponents ranked in the AP Top 25.
But for the first 10 minutes, it sure looked like the Bulldogs had a chance to change that.
Cain had seven points in a 10-0 run that put Georgia up 19-11 midway through the first half, and after Miami rallied, he hit a 3-pointer with 5:25 left before intermission to put the Bulldogs up 26-24.
By then, though, Miami had hit its best stride. And Georgia wouldn’t lead again.
The Hurricanes outscored Georgia 21-6 in the final 7:25 of the half to take a 39-29 lead into the break, 12 of the points in that run coming unanswered. The lead eventually reached 20 on two occasions in the second half, and Miami’s margin was double figures for the final 18:23.
BIG PICTURE
Georgia: The Bulldogs are going to be battle-tested when they get into their Southeastern Conference slate of games that start Jan. 6. Georgia is opening the season with four of its first five games against Power 5 schools; four of its first nine games are against ACC schools.
Miami: It’s a 4-0 start for the second consecutive season for the Hurricanes. The last time that happened was 2017-18 (10-0) and 2018-19 (5-0), when Miami finished off a run of five consecutive seasons starting at least 4-0. The Hurricanes have led for 139 of a possible 160 minutes so far this season, while trailing for only 15 of those minutes.
UP NEXT
Georgia: Faces Kansas State or Providence on Sunday.
Miami: Faces Kansas State or Providence on Sunday.
___
Get poll alerts and updates on AP Top 25 basketball throughout the season. Sign up here.
___
AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball
